Farming

Many people are surprised to learn that agriculture is the No. 1 industry in the state. However, North Carolina is losing farmland faster than any other state – and the number of dairy farms is down dramatically. Agriculture is estimated to be worth more than $70 billion annually to North Carolina’s economy. Agriculture and agribusiness […]

Two different organizations in the Charlotte region are using borrowed land and volunteer labor to get fresh, local food on the plates of people who need it most. Sow Much Good raises vegetables to sell well below market cost in low-income neighborhoods that are far from traditional farmers markets, while Friendship Gardens, started by Slow […]

This interactive map of the U.S. displays data on food availability, local foods, health and socioeconomic statistics. Data are displayed at the state or county level, depending on availability. Staff

The farmer points toward a long stretch of turned earth warming in the sun. Tomatoes and squash will grow well there, he says. More crops will be planted over there, he says, gesturing toward another neatly plowed rectangle. Behind him, small fruit trees cast shadows across the grass. It’s bucolic enough to make you almost […]

This time of year, I’m trying to get my fill of fresh tomatoes from the farmers market and my parents’ garden in the Uwharries. As fall approaches, I start to crave heartier food and switch to recipes that call for canned tomatoes. I rarely buy fresh tomatoes out of season, but when I’m eating out, […]

While they have a long history in the area, farmers markets have seen a burst of activity in the Charlotte region in recent years. New markets are now springing up inside Charlotte as well as in the towns that ring the center city. Photographer Nancy Pierce visited several farmers markets to capture the life and […]

Fruits and vegetables that taste like summer—tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, blueberries, raspberries, melons—are swelling and ripening in gardens and farms of our region. These crops would be far less abundant without the buzzing chorus of pollinating insects that provide their services for free. Commercial honey bee and bumble bee operations make good use of the industrious […]

Chickens are all the rage these days. All the fashionable neighborhoods have them. I recently met a gentleman who’d built a stately coop behind his home in Charlotte’s Myers Park. In Raleigh, residents flaunt their urban flocks during the annual Hen-side the Beltline Tour de Coop. I know these things because my husband has long […]

Sunday night I received a photo from Tommy Barbee, showcasing his supper. “Look at what a farm boy can create,” he said. The picture displayed a bright green salad, replete with cucumbers, tomatoes, and more; all of which he had grown there at Barbee Farms. As a locavore (someone who eats a local diet), this […]

Over the last few years, I’ve found myself transformed into a locavore. This term, which Oxford English Dictionary named its word of the year for 2007, refers to someone who eats a local diet. There are a multitude of reasons a person might become a locavore. I certainly didn’t start out with that as a […]